Annual Usage of Coal in an EFM520 Per Year, Per House Survey

CoalBurner5 wrote:I've burned through about 6 tons at my new house. The house is large 5,500sq ft. Boiler is in the basement (without jacket) and the basement is cinder block only. I'm going to hopefully stud it up and insulate it this week. The one thing I keep telling myself is that this is one of the worst winters in the northeast since 1985. So keep that in mind when you start to worry about how much coal you've used.

Here is an idea. How about we start to get a lot of feed back from people about how much coal they've burned so far this winter. So that everyone (especially new burners like myself can get an idea of how much we will use in a normal winter).

How about we get the basic's?

1.) Square footage heating?
2.) Do you have your jacket on boiler?
3.) Where do you live?
4.) What type (rice/buck)?
5.) How much?
6.) What type of heating unit (forced air,hot water baseboard, hot water radiator, in floor radiant)

I don't own a 520, but in my first year of burning coal in my efm WCB boiler, I began to burn my first ton on Dec. 5th and it will run out about Jan. 18th. 1500 sq. ft, very well insulated, except for old windows. Chestnut coal, jacket on boiler in the garage, hot water baseboard heat. Located in east central PA

I have a reconditioned 520. The jacket is installed with fiberglass board insulation under it. I burn all year. Heating a little less than 4000 well insulated feet with a pack of kids taking long showers. Baseboards are the game with an indirect domestic water heater. I like to keep my wife and kids warm so the heat is up 70-72. I burn between 4 and 5 ton a year. I'm starting to suspect that the water table is high and I'm heating the ground. We live just south of the Adirondacks. Scott

Do 350's count?

Sure get everyone's feedback.

I was curious if I was burning to much. I burn with a DF520 reconditioned. It is in the basement (which also serves as a two car garage). I heat about 2500 feet with hot water radiators and the other 3,000 is heated with forced air. The hot water goes through a heat exchanger and then is blown throughout the house. So far I started burning in the beginning of november and I've already used about 6 tons of coal. My domestic water is also on the boiler. The jacket is off as I like to get the radiant heat in the garage (this may change). The house is very well insulated except for the basement with the garage doors.

I guess I was curious if I was burning to much. I'm thinking of putting in either baseboard or radiant in floor heat to help eliminate the forced air aspect because the air handler is asked to run darn near all the time (probably 50 minutes per hour). I keep the place at 71. This week im planning on studding up the basement and insulating it to help keep the radiant air from boiler in the house and hopefully that will cut down on coal consumption. If not, then I guess I will be looking into radiant or hot water baseboard.

I live in central pa. Total coal so far is 6 tons. Use hot water radiator and forced air through heat exchanger. Jacket is off. 5,500 sq ft.

This is my first year with a 520 boiler heating a 1750 sqft ranch in SWVT. Boiler is in the basement with some insulation, it keeps the basement around 70 and upstairs 68-70. Now that it's cold I burn 80lbs or better a day. (rice) Burned 8.5 cords last year with a hot living room and other rooms much cooler, also no heat in basement from that. At this point my wife and I like the investment very much!

1899 farm house with 2 newer additions. about 1800 sf

Some radiant the rest hot water baseboard.

Normally start in October and run thru May. This year I started late do to the install of the radiant.

This year started in november....

Previous 2 years I burned about 6 tons. Hoping to do it with 5 tons this year as I have improved windows and insulation.

So far Since Mid November I have burnt about 1.5 to 1.75 tons.

EFM SF520 Highboy

To compare coal usage you might want to compare heating load caused by weather, Heating Degree Day for your location.
For example parts of Alaska have twice the heat load as parts of the North East.
http://www.degreedays.net/#generate
I proposed a cost/use comparison number in this thread.
So You Want to Compare Coal Usage.
I read results and will be insulating all next summer.
Don't forget garages can complicate coal use comparisons.

I have an EFM AP520-1 and I burn 5 to 6 ton a year. I burn all year long. Boiler is in the basement with jacket and insulation around the boiler. I have a 3 level house no insulation but it's half a double so I'm good on the side that connects to my neighbor. I have hot water cast iron radiators on 2 and 3rd floors but nothing in basement. The basement still stays about as warm as the rest of the house. I keep my thermo between 64 and 68 for the most part during winter and all the way down during summer. Rice coal by the way. Northeast PA. About 600 sq ft per level.

Hi, I am going to end up burning about 13-14 tons of blashcak rice. I live in a large brick home with 3 floors heated with hot water radiators and an unheated basement. Dont know the square footage, but house has 8 bedrooms, large living and dining room and midsize kitchen. The first floor has new windows but upper 2 floors do not. no wall insulation that I know ...just insulation in the attic floor. We live in south central PA. Our DF520 is jacketed. Also, have a tall big chimney.

I'm heating around 3,000 square feet with my DF520. My house is 27 years old and the boiler was installed when the house was built. We use rice coal, and typically use 6 tons per year. I run mine year-round for the DHW in the summer months. I do exercise the oil gun about once a month for a couple of hours though.
We live in western PA, and the jacket is on the machine.

I am heating about 4000 sq ft with a 520 at about 72 degrees. Jacket is on boiler. I use baseboard heat. I have another 1600 sq feet (3rd floor) above the first 2 floors without baseboard ,just heat moving up naturally. It stays around 65 on the 3rd floor. I just got coal again from Superior Yesterday. My total since Nov is 6 ton. The load I just got should take me into mid march I hope. So I am looking at about 9 ton for the winter and about 10 ton for the entire year as I also have my dhw on my boiler. I am in Central PA Tremont Area (Newtown). About 35% insulated with all the old 6 pane windows. I had put Larson Storm windows and about 50% of the windows. My house is 150 plus years old.

I am heating a 3000sq foot cape cod. The boiler is in the basement and the jacket is off. basement is 70 and the upstairs main level is 72 and we keep the top floor bedrooms at 67-68.
We have hotwater baseboard throughout the house on 4 zones. Last year burned 4 tons of buck from 1st week of Nov. till end of May. I will burn probably 5 tons of buck from Oct through May this year due to the colder weather.
We love our coal stoker.

Mitch

4600 sq foot 1895 Victorian with 48 windows
9 ton/year
Jacket is off in stone basement
I live just south of Binghamton NY
Using Rice from Hudson
Boiler feeds a Water to Hot Air heat exchanger.

I've got a 3700 sq. foot Victorian in central MA, Steam heat, insulated walls, old windows with new Harvey storms, unheated basement, steam heat with complementary furnace on heat exchanger. Keep the thermostat at 68 to keep Mom warm. Before the walls were insulated, I used 15 tons a year. After the walls were insulated...15 tons a year. Tall chimney (3 story house, including attic). This year's spring/summer projects are clearly to focus on windows, doors and more attic insulation...

greta325 wrote:I've got a 3700 sq. foot Victorian in central MA, Steam heat, insulated walls, old windows with new Harvey storms, unheated basement, steam heat with complementary furnace on heat exchanger. Keep the thermostat at 68 to keep Mom warm. Before the walls were insulated, I used 15 tons a year. After the walls were insulated...15 tons a year. Tall chimney (3 story house, including attic). This year's spring/summer projects are clearly to focus on windows, doors and more attic insulation...

That usage seems a bit high. Do you have the jacket off so that you're heating additional area in the basement? Are you making DHW? Timer and feed/air settings? What year is on the nameplate of your boiler?

Mike